Monday, April 12, 2021 | 2 a.m
Don’t look at the bias – it doesn’t really matter.
For example, claims Doug Logan, CEO of Cyber Ninjas, a contractor for the Republicans of the Arizona Senate when examining the elections in Maricopa County. Logan made a statement last week responding to what he called “false shouting about biased allegations.”
I appreciated the funny choice of words, but it couldn’t hide his conclusion: He may be biased, but it doesn’t matter because the audit will be so, so good.
These are not his exact words, but they were at the core of his meaning when he said, “The big question shouldn’t be,” Am I biased, “but rather,” Will this test be transparent, truthful, and accurate? “The answer to the latter question is a resounding ‘yes’.”
In truth, the so-called Arizona Senate Republicans’ so-called scrutiny of the Maricopa County presidential election is dead upon arrival. Senate President Karen Fann and her buddy Senator Warren Petersen have teamed up to appease the GOP’s conspiracy selected that is only credible with conservative electoral conspirators.
For the rest of the state’s population, this exam is just a final sideshow of the Trump circus, best ignored or ridiculed, but certainly not believed.
First, consider the fact that Logan’s firm is neither a chartered accountant nor an election specialist, even though they have been hired to conduct an election test. You are a “cybersecurity company,” as Logan noted in his letter, that specializes in “threat modeling”.
So not only is the company biased, it also doesn’t have relevant experience scrutinizing an election unless you’re the type to think Hugo Chavez tampered with our voting machines from the grave.
The trend became apparent immediately after Cyber Ninjas were selected to lead this audit. The Arizona Mirror first revealed that Logan tweeted and repeated others’ tweets after the presidential election, joining the “Stop the Steal” movement. This is the movement started by Trump fanatics who believed his claim that the election was stolen from him.
Logan himself tweeted: “The parallels between the statistical analysis of Venezuela and this year’s elections are amazing. I am ashamed of how few Republicans talk about it. “
He has also retweeted comments questioning Arizona’s choice of Ron Watkins, a key figure on the conspiratorial right. Watkins is one of the people behind the QAnon conspiracy theory that satanic pedophile cabal rule the country. He was also instrumental in initiating and spreading conspiracy theories about Dominion Voting Systems, the company whose equipment was used in Maricopa County.
So Logan’s biased, but at least he had the honesty to admit it indirectly.
This is important not just in Phoenix, but across the state. Imagine lawmakers unhappy with the election results in Graham Counties or Navajo Counties – the state could bully these small counties much more easily than Maricopa County.
Fortunately, Fann and Petersen, who are also electoral conspirators, face massive backlash from the Republican majority on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. The Phoenix press and others also point out the many elephants in the room.
Take this worrying paragraph from Cyber Ninjas’ “Statement of Work” submitted to the Senate: “The Registration and Vote Registration Team worked with a number of people to conduct impartial acquisitions in Arizona in connection with the 2020 general election, Identify Statistically they made voter registrations that made no sense and then knock on doors to confirm that valid voters actually lived at the address provided, which resulted in a number of significant anomalies that indicate significant problems with the electoral roll. “
Before the cybersecurity firm even got the Arizona deal, it knocked on the door in the Phoenix area and asked voters for their registration and votes. What the hell?
A team of three Arizona law firms representing a group called Protect Democracy sent cyber ninjas a warning letter asking them and their subcontractors to stop, or otherwise.
“This tactic, regardless of its intent, is illegal voter intimidation and can expose your company to both civil and criminal penalties,” the letter said.
When Cyber Ninjas sent a four-page list of questions to Maricopa County, Republican chairman Jack Sellers politely asked them to stuff them. He noted that Maricopa County conducted non-partisan and transparent election reviews and that the county approved two more forensic examinations of its machines. Everything came out clean.
“Many of your examiners’ questions can be answered by reviewing the electoral process manual, early voting schedules and election day, and key points from the hearing that took place last year before the Senate Judiciary Committee. We suggest that the cyber ninjas first review these points, follow the hearing, and review Arizona electoral laws. “
Cyber ninjas’ questions “show a complete lack of familiarity with the system,” said former Maricopa County recorder Adrian Fontes. “They show a nasty lack of preparation.”
Incidentally, Fontes is a Democrat who helped run the 2020 elections in Maricopa County and yet lost his election, a result that seems to break any theory of election fraud.
“We followed everything up to a T,” said Fontes. “The question arises as to whether we go through this clown show every election cycle. Will we have sore losers who disturb confidence in democracy because they didn’t like the result? “
We could avoid future clown shows if we treat this sideline for what it is – a farce that embarrasses Arizona.
Tim Steller is a columnist for the Arizona Daily Star.
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